The 2016 Toyota Tacoma has gotten a substantial refresh, and with the midsize pickup space now much healthier than it was just a few years ago, this refresh has come at just the right time.
Thanks to the resurgent popularity of midsize pickups, Toyota is trying its best to keep up with demand for the outgoing Tacoma, even if that truck is actually part of a decade-old generation. That makes the outgoing model one of the most outdated vehicles in the market these days. Both the Chevrolet Colorado and its cousin, the GMC Canyon, are enjoying strong sales figures, and the Colorado, in particular, had surprisingly won Truck of the Year from Motor Trend. The midsize pickup space has, as a result, enjoyed a 2.1 percent share of the light vehicle market through July 2015; that’s up from 1.5 percent the same time last year.
The 2016 Toyota Tacoma stands out for having an optional 3.5-liter V6 engine that makes 278 horsepower, or 42 more horses than the outgoing model, eight airbags and a rear-vision camera as standard safety equipment, and a 6.1-inch touchscreen and GoPro mount for the infotainment system, also standard. Pricing begins at $25,720 for the base model (with 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine) and goes all the way to $38,770 for the top-of-the-line Limited trim. Both prices are inclusive of destination charges.
“(The Tacoma’s success) is basically coming from the strength of the market,” said Toyota Division GM Bill Fay in a press conference for the new Tacoma’s launch. “Thanks to easy credit and low gasoline prices, “we’ve got a 10-year-old truck that’s getting very little marketing support but has a huge amount of support in the marketplace.”
The 2016 Tacoma will be out in dealerships by September 10, and it will be interesting to see if Toyota is able to satisfy demand by then, with more and more consumers opting for midsize trucks.
